Bitcoin is rebounding again as liquidations force out more short sellers

Ether jumped as much as 8.3% on Friday as more than $255 million in bearish bets on the token were wiped out in 24 hours

Ether climbed as much as 8.3% on Friday, a move not seen intraday since a spike three weeks earlier, while Bitcoin advanced less than 4%. Both tokens pulled back from their session highs. Coinglass data cited by Bloomberg showed that Ether short positions totaling more than $255 million were closed out in the preceding 24 hours, alongside $172 million in liquidated bearish wagers on Bitcoin during the same window. The pace of Ether liquidations picked up sharply in the most recent hour, with Coinglass data putting the total at approximately $188 million. Taken together, long and short positions across the broader crypto market amounted to roughly $500 million in liquidations over the prior 24-hour period.

The move had the hallmarks of a short squeeze. "Traders were paying to be short into an 8% rally," said Adam McCarthy, head of research at trading firm LO:TECH. "This exacerbated the move." On Binance, about $76 million in Ether positions were liquidated in the 24-hour period, with most of those being closed short positions, according to Bloomberg. In perpetual futures markets, Ether funding rates flipped negative — a sign that short sellers were being charged to maintain their exposure while counterparties on the long side collected the payments.